How Did It Happen?
by ExoticDarkOne
Summary: I don't understand how it came to be. I can't see what my father saw in my mother. I don't even know how I was born. Because my mother is a human, and my father is Sanghelli. So I ask him, and he recounts the story of how he met and fell in love with a human.
1. Prologue

**Well, this has been in my head for quite some time and I just never acted on it until now. Now I'm just seeing how this will go over, so don't expect regular updates until one of my other stories are finished. Then I promise I will begin to update this story more regularly.**

**As always, enjoy!**

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**Prologue.**

My mother was never odd to me, not really. Of course I realized how different she was. But she acted just like any other Sanghelli. It wasn't until I was older that I began to resent her differences. Those same differences she gave to me.

She has noticed that I shy from her, and though I know I have hurt her feelings, she hides the pain of my rejection well. She has become nearly indifferent. It is no doubt a side effect of me treating her that way.

I can't bring myself to feel bad about it either. She's just so different, and I'm the one that catches everything bad about her.

She used to tell me that it doesn't matter what others say so long as I know myself. But how can I know myself when I don't know her? My father I have figured out, but she is confusing.

How did she get here? What did she do to make my father fall in love with her? How could she have carried me in her womb?

All these things and more confuse me.

You see, my mother is a human.

She's integrated into the Sanghelli world, but she is still just a silly weak human. She cries when she steps on insects. Often when she is in the garden, I catch her playing with the little things, letting them crawl over her or moving them to a safer spot where she won't step on them.

She has a strange obsession with animals. Father says she simply respects all life. He says that she believes that everyone and everything are equal, no matter how big or small or where they came from or what they look like.

I wish I could just leave. I am Sanghelli, but she has cursed me to carry her oddly colored eyes. A Sanghelli has never been born with green eyes before. It's unheard of.

My existence is unheard of.

Finally, after nearly a year of watching and assessing, I ask my father. I cannot figure my mother out.

I want to know why my father married a human.

He looks out the window where she is sitting across the pathway. I do the same. She is surrounded by women at the neighbor's house, helping to sew a blanket for Mina's new baby. Mother calls Mina her soul sister. I think she's crazy.

"She…She wasn't even supposed to be here long. She was almost dead when the Arbiter brought her here from Earth. He wasn't the Arbiter then, and we were still fighting the humans. He thought she would be useful to learn human weaknesses. But he was called away to battle on the Halo, and she was left behind."

He is silent for the longest time, and I imagine that I can see him playing events over in his head.

I call him back to the present and ask him why he chose her. He shrugs.

"It just happened."

And so, my father begins the story of how he fell in love with a human.


	2. First Meeting

**Hey to the few followers or favorites. Just thought I'd let y'all see what this was about. I hope everyone will like it.**

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I am sitting in the infirmary, getting some burns taken care of when the door lights up and slides open. Thel's form steps in the door, his gold armor shining under the lights of the ship. He has a human thrown over his shoulder.

My first reaction is shock; humans were so adamant about collecting their dead or dying, it had been nigh impossible to catch one alive.

This one was alive, in the loosest sense. Its breathing was labored and I could see burned flesh that still glowed from a fresh plasma shot across one shoulder.

Thel lays the human down on a nearby table and pulls the medic to the side to speak quietly. I watch curiously as the medic walks to the table and begins to peel the armor off the human. This human is female, judging from the breasts and wide hips.

She remains unconscious throughout the jostling the medic gives her. Her skin is a light tan color, and I can see small scars cut into her flesh. I wonder at the two matching scars on her lower leg.

The medic smears a paste on her plasma burns and stitches up a laceration on her left hip. He nods to Thel and leaves to heal other patients across the hall.

Thel watches her silently, and I can't shake the feeling that he knows her somehow. We watch the female breathe for nearly twenty minutes before her breath whooshes through her nose raggedly and she starts coughing.

She pants and forces herself to sit up. I am impressed; she is in serious pain and she can ignore it.

The human realizes she isn't alone and turns to look up at the closest other person in the room: me. She gasps and jerks back away from me so hard that she falls off the other side of the table. She groans painfully from the floor.

I'm trying not to laugh in front of Thel as he walks around the table and barks at her in the human's odd language.

She replies to him with some familiarity. I wish I knew what they were saying. There's some history here that I'm missing.

I walk around the table to study the human as she speaks to Thel. She shifts uncomfortably before finally pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. But to her credit she ignores me otherwise. Seems she trusts that Thel won't let her get hurt.

Now this is just going to bother me. I'll have to figure some way to get the information.'

The human's frightened whisper turns into a louder complaining. Thel silences her and she sighs in frustration before laying a glare on me.

What did I do?

"Hetlan, you are to escort this human wherever she goes. You are to keep her from escaping and you are to learn as much as possible about humans as is able. She will cooperate."

I cannot disobey an order, so I reply, "Sir."

He walks across the room and out the door. I glare at the human sitting at my feet.

She glares back.

We are stuck.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

After several minutes of glaring and edging around each other in the tiny infirmary room, we've come to realize that we aren't going to kill each other.

That's progress.

What isn't progress is that I don't speak Human, and she doesn't speak Sanghelli.

Thel is probably laughing right now.

So I start with what I know, and what I know is that she is uncomfortable when naked in front of me. Even now she stands in a corner as far away from me as possible with her arms crossed to hide her breasts. She catches me looking and her face does that funny color change before she shifts and mutters to herself.

I begin searching the cabinets and drawers in the small room. I don't find any clothes, but I do find a few sheets. I walk to her – I ignore when she shies away from me – and hold them out. She hesitates but takes them gently from my hands.

This surprises me. Yes, I know she isn't going to try to kill me, but she hasn't been so much as hostile to me.

As I'm thinking about this, she has taken one of the sheets and wrapped it over one shoulder, around her hips, and tied it so that it would stay. It serves as a makeshift dress nicely. She says something, and I haven't got a clue what she means.

She sighs when she realizes this and begins to look around. But there is nothing in the bare medic room and so she turns back to study me closely. Finally, she puts her thumb under her fingers as if she's holding something and places them to her lips.

She makes the gesture a couple more times, but it isn't until her stomach growls that I realize she's hungry.

But I can't just take her to the mess hall. I can just imagine how that will go over.

So I take her to my quarters and lock her in before going to the mess hall myself. I get two plates and take them back to my quarters. I find the human playing on a digital pad I use to make myself memos.

And then she does something that nearly makes me drop the food in my hands.

She smiles at me.

I'm relieved when she turns back to the screen and starts to draw on it with her finger. I didn't want her to know she had shaken me.

I put a plate of food down next to her and glance at the pad over her shoulder. She seemed to be making a list of things she needed.

She is very good at drawing. I can make out the needle and thread, the pencil, and the measuring stick, but I'm not sure what the two crossed markings are. I point at them and ask her what it is. She can't understand the words, but I know she can get the meaning.

She takes her first two fingers and opens and closes them on the hem of her makeshift dress. She needs something to cut the fabric.

Alright, I'm game.

Let's play.


	3. I Like It When She Calls Me Sexy

**Ny'Kle, this chapter is for you. **

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She has cut the sheets into random shapes and now sits sewing an alteration while I hold the fabric close to her ribs. I must admit she has skill. I didn't even believe humans knew what needle and thread were; I have seen many factories where robots make nearly everything the humans' desire.

She has used the first sheet to create a shift-like dress that is sleeveless and hangs just above her knees. There is a belt that she ties around herself to give the shift some form, but other than that she seems content to leave it plain.

The other two sheets have been mauled into what appears to be pants and a shirt with half-sleeves. I think she wanted full length sleeves but she ran out of fabric.

She swats me away and returns to sewing the seams of the pants. I sit across the room and watch with my arms crossed over my chest.

We are silent for a long time before my door clicks and slides open. Thel walks in. I stand. He glances at me then looks down at the human at his feet. She looks up at him quizzically.

He barks orders to her before turning to me.

"No more dress-up. Teach her our language or learn hers. We need information as soon as possible."

"Sir."

He stomps back out and leaves me and the human to stare at each other again. He blows her hair out of her face and mumbles to herself.

She stands up and looks at me squarely.

She says something. I frown. She says it again.

I turn and lay on my bed again. I lean against the wall and close my eyes. This is going to be a painful process.

"Hetlan."

Hearing my name come out of her mouth makes my heart stutter. I open my eyes and look at her steadily. How has she learned my name so quickly?

She walks to the edge of the bed and lays her hand on my collarbone.

"Hetlan." She says.

She takes her hand away and puts it on her chest. "Ahn-dree-uh."

"Ahn-dree-uh." I repeat slowly, the pronunciation different than what I'm used to.

She nods and says it quickly. "Andrea."

"Andrea."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mother comes rushing into the kitchen like a whirlwind, disturbing the story my father was telling. I glare, but mother is determinedly not looking at me.

She tells father that she and Mina are going to the market and she'll be back in time to make supper. Father nods and gets a kiss on his elbow. That's all mother can reach while he's standing.

A long buried part of me wrenches as she leaves without giving me a hug. She's always given me affection. Now she does not. It doesn't matter though. I've stepped away from her hugs enough that she knows I don't want them.

She knows that I am shamed by her.

"You pain your mother this way."

Father's deep rumble shakes me from my thoughts.

"She has pained me my whole life. You can't imagine the names I get called simply because she is my mother."

"Selfish." He chides me. "What do you think I went through when I chose her?"

I open my mouth to reply and realize I don't have an answer for him. I close my mouth. I've been living with the one person who could understand me best and never once thought about that.

"How did you do it?" I ask.

"I thought of her."

"But why?"

He stares out the window again, and I see him idly fiddling with a bracelet on his wrist. Strange. I've never noticed him wearing it before.

"She was a refuge of the storm we were caught up in. She was going through what I was going through; there were many humans upset by her decision. But she was strong. Or stubborn, whichever you choose. She said I made her happy, and that was all that mattered. Even now when someone says something she ignores it like nothing was said at all."

"But she is not strong. She cries."

"She has only cried on two occasions."

"No, she cries almost all the time. I hear her."

"Let me rephrase then; she only cries on one subject. It's her only weakness."

"To hear her talk she has no weaknesses."

Father sighs and shakes his head, and I see something in his face change. "Her weakness is her children."

I think on that for a few minutes. Mother considered me a weakness? How does she consider me so?

Wait…

"Children?"

Father sighs heavily and he walks around the table to slump in his chair. He does not speak right away.

"You are not the first. Our first child was stillborn. She was nearly killed trying to give birth to him. I swore I wouldn't risk her again."

"Yet here I am."

Father's lips quirk just a fraction.

"She begged me for you. And when she finally had you I feared you would never learn to walk because she wouldn't put you down. I would tell her you would never walk, and she would say that was fine, she'd carry you, and then I'd remind her you wouldn't stay small forever, and she'd say she needed to start on a bigger basket then."

Father laughs and I smile despite myself. I could imagine her doing something like that.

I think for a minute. "What is a 'sweetheart'?" I ask.

"It's just a human term of endearment. She has several."

"Which one do you like most?"

Father snorts and begins to laugh.

"What?"

"Well, I _really_ like it when she calls me sexy."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, from what she says it means something different to the general human public, but when she uses that particular word, it usually means she wants to make more babies."

There is a beat of silence.

"That's disgusting."

"Get married and then tell me how disgusting it is when your wife gives you 'that' pet name."

Father laughs as I stalk out of the room.


	4. Arrival on Sanghelios

**One more chapter just because I can. Ny'Kle, there might be a new chapter next week. Until then, here it is.**

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The next day I enter the kitchen to find mother already at the clay oven baking bread. She tests it and finds it to her liking and pulls it from the oven. I sit at the table.

She hasn't acknowledged me yet. It is as if she doesn't know that I am here. She can't fool me though; ever since I can remember she's had an unnatural ability to know where I am.

Father steps through the door rubbing his eyes and bends so mother can kiss his cheek. She twirls around him carefully as he sits in his chair. She begins frying something in that odd pan thing she had delivered from Earth. She still gets things from her old life. I swear we have enough books to make a library.

"Hon, I'm going up to the city today. Thel and Rtas need me for something or other. I can never get a straight answer out of either of them on the communications network." Mother says.

"Be careful and give them greetings for me." Father replies.

She nods and says, "I'm going to wear my armor."

"Take my sword as well. There are still malcontents among the state."

"Yes, dear." Mother answers meekly.

Armor? I didn't even know mother knew the meaning of the word. And father's sword? I snort. She doesn't know how to use it.

Father has a plate set in front of him. Mother claims she has already eaten and leaves to pull on her armor.

I grumble and get up to make a plate.

I am nearly finished eating when mother steps into the door and I startle when I see her.

She actually has active camouflage armor, with some alterations that remind me of human armor.

Mother kisses father one more time before disappearing out the door without so much as looking at me.

"So what happened next?" I ask.

"What? Oh, that. Thel brought her to Sanghelios. He figured it would deter any humans that thought they could rescue her…"

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We leave the ship in silence. Over the course of the trip I have learned several words and phrases of the human language. Andrea, however, has a knack for languages and has learned greetings to different ranks of Sanghelli, how to ask for directions, and how to ask for either me or Thel. She continues to learn too; I can hear her and Thel speaking in a back and forth manner ahead of me.

I watch her. She is less graceful than is her usual. She keeps tripping. Ah, I see now. The rocks under her bare feet make her twist her ankles. She has gotten used to the smooth floors of the ship. The belt of her shift comes undone again and she curses as she tries to catch it.

I step up beside her and pick it up for her. She thanks me and ties it again. We walk through the fields on the outskirts of the village. Andrea has to stop several times and pick stickers out of her feet. Too bad she doesn't have strong hooves like Sanghelli.

Once into town, I notice that Andrea is out of breath and struggling just to walk. I ask if she's alright.

"Air…heavy." She tells me.

I point out her situation to Thel.

"Earth's gravity is barely half as strong as Sanghelios. She will grow used to it."

Still I worry, but Andrea is pushing on, toddling after Thel as quickly as she can. I grudgingly admire her tenacity.

We enter Thel's small, empty home. He tells me I can return home, but gives me orders that I am to return every day and continue teaching Andrea the Sanghelli language.

I nod and, with one last glance at Andrea, leave to return to the house of my parents.

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**Short, I know, but I have class in like fifteen minutes. Ciao!**


	5. Meet the Sanghelli

**Wow! There are a lot of new people liking this story! Don't worry though Ny'Kle, you were here first!**

**Oh, hey, can I ask you guys something? Are the transitions between Hetlan's story and his son's recognizable or do you want me to start labeling them so you know where they change?**

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My eyes drag open, and something is off about the light in my room. I rub my face and sit up to peek out the window. It is nearly midday. Mother always stirs at dawn. She usually wakes me and I get up as she cooks breakfast.

Oh, that's right. Mother has gone to the city. I get up and start to dress.

I find father sitting in the chair mother made for him. It is a human contraption that rocks back and forth. I remember watching her try again and again to make it. It was the fifth one that worked and now eases father's aching back.

Smoke flies from his mouth as he exhales.

"That thing is going to kill you one day." I say, looking at his pipe with distaste.

"So you and your mother keep telling me. Leave an old man his tobacco."

"I will when you are actually old. You're just barely over thirty summers old."

"I am thirty and eight summers."

I wave him off and look out over the small yard. Mother has touched the yard with her gift of making things grow. Flowers bloom even in the winter months when the neighbors fought to even keep their grass growing. A sapling mother had delivered from earth has turned golden with the shortening days.

This sapling is the one vanity that I like, though I'll never say so to mother. In the spring it blooms soft white flowers only as big as mother's palms, and the edges of the petals are red, as if brushed with paint. Mother calls it a dogwood. She told me the story of why it is such a crooked tree, but I can't remember it.

Now, in late autumn it sheds leaves with every breeze. I go out and begin raking the leaves out of the yard.

"So what happened when you got back to Sanghelios?" I ask over my shoulder.

"I believe your mother calls it a 'huge cluster fuck'."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The villagers are outraged. Even my father rants and raves and paces about the house as he curses at Thel.

Mother and I exchange a glance and smile wryly at each other. We know no matter what father says, he will follow Thel anywhere.

Mother quietly asks me about Andrea.

"She is quirky, even by human standards. Her face changes colors, she stares for minutes at a time, and I hear her talking to herself. She's a quick learner though, and she has skills in some regards. Her first word in Sanghelli was my name."

"She doesn't sound so bad. To hear the men talk humans are as barbaric as the Jiralhanae."

"She's not barbaric, she's just odd. I think she is touched."

"Mind your manners about her."

"Always."

Mother nods. She has always told me to never make fun of the touched ones. I wouldn't anyway. I wouldn't wish the life of a touched one on anyone.

"Hetlan, I need you to go to the market for me tomorrow. We need some things and I have to babysit Nad's children."

"I cannot. Thel has given me the order to go sit with the human every day until she learns Sanghelli."

"Couldn't you just take the human with you?"

"I…don't think that will be a good idea."

"They're going to have to get over the human being here. And besides, I want to meet her."

I try to argue with her, but she will not be swayed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next day, Andrea is in my shadow, nearly clinging to me as we walk through the market square. From the looks she is receiving, I cannot blame her. I calmly go about buying the things on mother's list that's nearly as long as I am tall.

As I buy meat at the butcher's, his curious wife asks about Andrea. I explain that she is supposed to be learning the language so that Thel'Vadamee can use her knowledge against other humans. The butcher's wife is surprised to learn that Andrea already knows some greetings.

I nudge Andrea and gesture to the woman. She looks at me hesitantly before turning to her and saying, "Good morning. My name is Andrea. How are you today?"

Her Sanghelli is perfectly fluent, with no hint of an accent. The butcher's wife is ecstatic, and claps her hands while smiling brightly. They carry on a short, basic conversation while the butcher and I exchange meat and money.

"Come, Andrea." I say as I turn to exit the door. She bids farewell to the butcher and his wife before following me farther down the street.

It is nearly an hour later that Andrea and I return to my house laden down with the supplies mother wanted.

Andrea introduces herself to my mother's delight, and helps her put food away. I stand watchfully nearby, and to my amazement Andrea learns what different things are called without even being taught; she simply listens to me and my mother speak back and forth and commits the information to memory to use later.

Mother sets a plate of sweets on the table as she cooks. It is something she has done since she married father. I reach for one of the round cakes and take a bite. Andrea watches me then looks at the plate. She does not say anything.

I gesture to my mother while Andrea isn't looking and mother nods.

"Andrea, would you like a cake?" she asks, holding out one of the cakes.

Andrea takes the cake and thanks my mother for it. Her eyes light up when she takes a bite. I laugh at the look on her face.

Mother smiles. "Well, at least someone enjoys my cooking."


	6. Assassin

**It's going to be a short one kiddies, but here's one nonetheless. **

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Three moon cycles have passed since Thel has brought Andrea to Sanghelios. Every day she has been on the doorstep of my parents' house to help my mother cook and to learn the language from me. I have tired with learning the human language, but Andrea insists on teaching me anyway.

Each day at noon she has returned to Thel's home.

I followed her after the first few days she did this. I caught her stretching; bending and twisting her body into forms I didn't think she could pull off. I told this to Thel.

"It is good," he had said, "When she is fit for combat, take her to the training grounds and have her spar with the warriors. It will improve their fighting skills over humans if they already know how to defeat them."

"I will take her to Duna-"

"No, take her to Rtas 'Vadumee. He is training the warriors being prepared for deployment. Ensure that she does not die. I doubt I can find a replacement so willing."

I had nodded.

Now I lead this ever-trusting human through the throngs of people in town. She is still scorned by most, but some of the Sanghelli call and wave to her. She eagerly returns all.

There is a cliff at the back of the village, with a path carved into the stone up to the top. At the top is the training grounds. The training grounds is where I am leading Andrea, and I am loathe to do so.

Any soldier under Rtas 'Vadumee eventually is decorated with numerous honors. No one mentions the grueling training they have to go through to get there though. I'd much rather have her sparring with the children under Duna.

I hear Andrea's footsteps behind me stop. I turn and find her staring at the sparring arena next to us. It is a surprise to see her eyes alight with an intensity I hadn't known she possessed. I have to call her name three times before she even looks my way.

I walk to Rtas. He gives me a long look before asking what I wanted.

"Thel 'Vadamee has ordered that the soldiers under your guidance spar with the human so that they will be prepared when they deploy. He also has expressed that she is not to be killed, due to replacements being hard to come by."

Rtas' face betrays nothing, but I imagine I catch a glimpse of amusement in his eyes.

He gives the order to clear the ring. He calls for a volunteer. One soldier two summers older than me steps forward. I know him. He is from a noble family, and is one of the best. Andrea doesn't stand a chance.

Rtas barks at Andrea to enter the ring. She stares at him for a moment, then cautiously enters the sparring arena, eyes fixated on her opponent. She edges around him carefully. I can see her sizing him up.

She circles him, those green eyes never once leaving her opponent. He tires of it after a minute and strides over to her, his intent clear as his hand reaches out for her throat. But he doesn't catch her.

She side-steps him in an odd turn and slaps him on his lower back with an open palm. You can see the surprise on his face; he hadn't thought she'd hit him.

He kicks out behind him. She bends backwards to avoid the blow and one leg snaps up and strikes him on his inner thigh.

She pounces away from him before he can grab her. She is using her agility against him.

I smile-

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Hetlan! Nobu!"

The voice rings out and I curse under my breath. Father pinches me for it.

Mina comes running from across the street, her skirts flying up behind her.

"I came as fast as I could, I know you don't have a holoscreen." She pants. "Three senators were found dead early this morning. The state is in an uproar."

"How?" Father asks, drawing deeply on his pipe.

"What do you mean?" Mina asks.

"How did they die?" he clarifies.

"Apparently they all died in their sleep. There are no signs of struggle or forced entry. The only thing linking their deaths is they are all malcontents against Thel 'Vadam.

Father nods. "Thank you Mina."

She dashes back to her house.

Father blows a smoke ring.

"Thel had better know what he's doing, using her like that. I should have told him off about it years ago."

"What are you mumbling about?" I ask.

"Hn, Thel is using your mother as an assassin. He knows she is tied to him."

"Tied to him?"

"Yes."

Father is quiet for a long while. Finally he sighs and confesses, "She loved him before she loved me, and he's using that to get her to do his dirty work."


	7. You Should See The Other Guys

**Well, since KATT9033 says she/he will never forgive me if I stop updating, here's another chapter just for shiggles. Tee hee, I learned shiggles yesterday reading a fanfic.**

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"Back up. What's Thel's connection to mother?" I ask, confounded by this new piece of information.

Father draws on his pipe again. I feel my eye twitch. I want to snatch the foul thing and throw it in the river behind the house. But I restrain myself; Sanghelli maintain composure. Even if that means dealing with father's pipe.

"There was a time when Thel was there for her and I was not. I got to where I didn't want to be near her. She, in turn, started treating me like I never existed."

The words send shivers down my spine. As affectionate as mother is to my father, I can't believe that she would just pretend he wasn't there. I have been on the receiving end of this behavior; it is a disconcerting thing to see your own mother look through you. But I guess I deserve it.

"Just go back to the sparring. You've gotten too far ahead."

Father smirks.

"As I was saying, she is extremely agile…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Andrea pounces away before he can grab her. I watch with growing delight as she continues to dodge his attacks and slap him in sensitive areas. Once she kicks him behind the knee. He drops, but he is back up in an instant.

Andrea holds her hand up to stop him. In his shock at her ordering her, he does. She takes his wrist and balls his fingers, tapping on his knuckles. Then she mimes his knuckles on her chin.

She backs away and balls her fists to demonstrate. She enforces that he needs to focus on his breathing. Then she settles into a stance with her fists up and gives him a signal to continue.

The soldier looks at Rtas for permission. Rtas inclines his head.

The soldier mimics Andrea's stance. She makes a few adjustments: she widens his feet, tucks his elbows into his ribs, and pushes his fists up to protect his chin.

She has him strike her three times in quick succession. So that's what the breathing thing is for. She has him repeat the three strikes then changes it to three strikes and a kick straight out ahead of him.

He does as she instructs, but doesn't kick her. She smacks his thigh and growls something at him in her human tongue. She points at his hoof then points at a spot between her ribs.

This time, he follows through, and she is knocked back several feet. She probably would have gone sprawling if she were trained so well herself.

"Good. Good." She tells him in Sanghelli.

"Can you fall?" she asks.

He seems surprised that she speaks Sanghelli.

"Can you fall?" she repeats.

"Yes." He says.

"Again." She tells him.

Two quick strikes, but this time when he kicks, she steps forward into the kick, wraps an arm around his leg, and sweeps his other hoof with one of her legs. He goes down and she is on him before he can realize he's in the sand. She has her legs around one arm and is pulling it.

He tells her he submits.

"Tap out." She tells him, and shows him how to pat on her leg to make her let him go.

She jumps up and holds a hand out to help him. He looks at it for a moment, then accepts the hand up.

"Kirth." He tells her. She grins widely and replies, "Andrea."

Three opponents later, and I learn probably the most important thing there is to know about humans: it does not matter how hard you beat the body if you do not beat the spirit.

The last opponent is being rough with her, striking to hurt her and throwing her around.

I am ready to fight him myself, but Andrea keeps getting back up. Red blood is dripping out of the corner of her mouth, and the right side of her face is swollen and starting to bruise. Her breathing is heavy, but still she closes the distance on him.

Eventually, Rtas calls the thug off of her. Andrea stands in the center of the ring, waiting for her next opponent.

Rtas thinks for a moment then says, "Hetlan."

I blink at him stupidly before remembering he is a superior and I step into the ring. I look at Andrea and am shocked to see something on her face I haven't seen before; she's _smirking_ at me.

I close the distance but she gets inside and jabs me quickly in the side. I feel her side-step me. I turn to catch her, but she isn't there anymore. Her foot impacts on my lower back. I spin around, but again she isn't there.

This is starting to get weird.

She pinches my knee. I reach before I look and I feel the brush of fabric before she disappears again.

"Stop." Rtas calls and I turn to him. Andrea skips forward. I stare at her incredulously.

"How are you doing that?" Rtas asks her.

"I've been watching him for three-"she stops and thinks for a word, "moons. I know all his blind spots."

This is news to everyone and I hear mutterings around the circle.

"Again." Rtas orders, and again Andrea practically disappears from my sight. At one point I feel more than see her ducking between my legs.

After a few more minutes of pinching and slapping, Rtas calls for a stop and dismisses everyone. Andrea and I return to my house.

My mother is furious at Andrea's state, but Andrea just laughs and tells her she should see the other guys. Still, mother slathers her in healing paste and orders her to eat something.

Andrea grins and winks at me when my mother isn't looking. I can't help but to smile back.


	8. Curry

**Ah, the love! So inspiring! The army of unggoy, kig-yar, and mgalekgolo have absolutely nothing to do with this chapter. Lol. **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mina has come by again. Four more senators have been found dead. Father is growling and pacing the house while he mumbles to himself. I might be only ten and four summers old, but I know to leave father alone while he does this.

Today is a particularly rough day; father has been in this mood for hours. My growling stomach has forced me into the kitchen. I am staring at mother's utensils and wondering what they are for.

If this were an armory, I'd know exactly what to do. Mother taught me how fight when I had first learned to walk. I loved it. She said I was a natural fighter, like she was.

I conjure an image of her in my mind now. I follow her steps around the kitchen, grabbing various utensils and ingredients. I am surprised that I know how to do this. I guess I've watched her enough times to know what I'm doing without realizing it.

…

I do not know what I am doing. I had everything right, so why does this bread taste so funny? I look at the ingredients still strewn about the kitchen. I find my mistake. Stupid flour, where's the cornmeal? I search the cabinets again.

Father is out of his rant by the time I'm pulling what actually appears to be mother's cornbread out of the oven. I am ecstatic. I cut a piece and taste it. Just like mother makes it.

I ask father what happened next as nonchalantly as possible. I don't yet know if he is completely out of his rant.

"She began to fulfill her use."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Is this absolutely necessary?" Andrea asks as Thel strips her out of her shift before picking her up and sitting her on his kitchen table.

I am just as offended as she is. When I first saw her, it had been nothing that she had been naked. But now that I _know_ her and have actually come to realize that she is in fact a _female_, something is different and I feel like I shouldn't be watching this.

But I am her caretaker, the one that knows her best, and Thel has ordered me be here. Rtas, is here too, and my mother because she has insisted her presence to make sure Andrea keeps her dignity, even if she can't have her modesty.

I know mother is really here to make sure the men don't do anything to Andrea, but I haven't seen anything like that in either of them.

"Stand." Thel orders, and Andrea obeys with an irritated flick of her hair. She crosses her arms over her breasts and murmurs dangerously to herself. I know that face. She is losing her patience. Automatically I scan the area near her to make sure she has nothing she can throw.

"Now what are human weaknesses that we can use?"

"You're looking at them." She snaps.

She takes a deep breath and begins to list off things that make humans weak. Thin skin, tendons, and pressure points are all gone over and shown the location of. Andrea goes over everything blandly, pointing at various places.

She has to speak in her own language mostly, because there are no words for them in Sanghelli. She shows how the human body has to move and demonstrates ways humans can be debilitated.

She is made to twist and bend to show the limits of the body.

After a couple of hours, mother calls a halt. The men look between themselves and decide not to argue. I pick Andrea up by her waist and put her back down on the floor. She slips into her shift and stalks outside Thel's tiny home.

Mother and I follow her out and mother insists that Andrea come to stay for supper. Andrea's mood is foul enough that she doesn't argue.

Andrea doesn't even look at what mother puts in front of her. I see her pick at it and I hear her mumbling under her breath. Something about men.

She takes a bite and squeals. I jump up and mother whirls around thinking something has gotten after her. Andrea is stomping her feet and her face is a horrendous shade of red and she shakes.

I'm shaking her trying to get her to tell me what's wrong, but she just squeals painfully again. Tears streak down her face.

Realization hits me.

I release her and start flying through the cupboards, looking for the sweetcakes mother keeps hidden from father.

I find them and rush back to Andrea. I have to force her lips open to shove the sweetcake in her mouth. She chews and that awful color drains from her face and she stops shaking. She has to breathe deeply and wipe her face.

Mother asks what was wrong with the food.

"Curry." Andrea curses, and refuses to eat anymore.


	9. Respect

**Yay! My Ny'Kle has come back! I have missed you! This chapter is dedicated to you today!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

I am shaken awake by my father.

"Get up. The horn has just sounded. Someone has called for lockdown."

My heart starts pounding. I get up off my mattress and begin to help father close the thick shutters and lock them. The doors are pulled shut.

"Wait, what about Mina and the little ones?" I ask with worry. I know Mina has three young daughters, and is heavily pregnant again.

"Kirth is home. He and Vahn came back the day before yesterday. And don't forget the oldest daughter is as good a fighter as you are."

"She is still only ten summers old."

"You of all people should know age doesn't matter."

I fall silent. He is right. By the time I was eight summers I could best warriors three times my age and four times my size. Mother taught me well.

I find a lot of things about me revolve around my mother.

We blow out all the candles so as not to draw attention. I feel my way to my room and pull my plasma pistol off my shelf and check its charge. I know I probably won't need it, but it makes me feel better.

I return to my father.

"Were mother's observations actually used?"

"What? Oh, yes. Thel and Rtas made extensive progress in the war just from what they learned from Andrea. You should have seen their faces when they realized that she learned faster than they did."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

For the last fortnight, Andrea has beaten me to the training grounds. By the time I climb up the cliff, still rubbing sleep from my eyes, she is covered in a sheen of sweat and has taken on several opponents.

Most of the warriors have come to respect her tenacity and fighting skill. She knows several of them by name. Kirth is one of her favorites. She likes to pounce on him and start roughhousing with him. He doesn't seem to mind.

I don't like him.

Today, however, when I crest the top of the cliff, Andrea is off to the side of the rings, checking the weapons rack. Rtas hasn't allowed her into the weapons fights…yet.

I make a note to myself to tell Andrea that I don't want her in the weapons fights. She gets herself hurt often enough just in the hand-to-hand combat that I can just imagine what would happen if she got her hands on a spear. She'd probably impale herself.

I am at her side when she selects two broken spear shafts that are about the same length. They are so big around she can barely get her hand around them.

"These will make perfect escrima sticks." She whispers to herself in the human language. She doesn't seem to notice me here.

"Andrea, what are you doing?" I ask.

She looks up at me, but her mind is elsewhere, so it appears she looks through me.

"I am ready for a rematch." She states, and I have no idea what she means.

She walks to Rtas while I try to decipher what she is saying.

"I would like to pick my opponent this morning." She says to Rtas.

Rtas looks down at her for a long moment before he inclines his head. She bows her own head to acknowledge his permission.

She walks around the ring of warriors, searching them for one in particular. The broken spear shafts twirl in her hands ominously.

She stops and looks up into the eyes of the opponent she has chosen, and my heart nearly stops.

He is the thug that nearly beat her unconscious her first day.

"If you will have weapons, then I will have weapons." He tells her, and my blood runs like ice in my veins.

She nods. "Agreed."

She walks to the center of the ring while he selects a spear of his liking from a different rack. The air has gone still, and people gather around the ring to see what would happen.

Simultaneously, Andrea and her opponent settle into their stances. They are still as stone for what seems an eternity. Then the ring explodes into movement.

Andrea and the warrior have closed the distance between them in less time than I can blink, and are striking and blocking rapidly and furiously.

I am stunned as they appear to dance before my very eyes. They flow like water together, both knowing what the other would do next as the air thrums with the ringing of metal on metal.

I have never seen Andrea like this. She's using every ounce of her agility to get into his defenses, and she's _fast._ I can barely see her move.

The warrior keeps up with her without any trouble, and I wonder why Andrea hasn't tried to use his blind spots. She's learned every warrior's blind spot in the eight moons that she's been here. So why hasn't she used his?

I watch carefully. Andrea's two sticks are a force to be reckoned with. While she bocks with one, she strikes with the other. But the warrior uses his spear in much the same way. He'll sweep it in long but tight arcs to attack, and slap the butt of it up with his hooves to defend.

Shock nearly puts me face first in the sand when I realize why Andrea's not bothering with his blind spots; he has his eyes closed.

In the time that Andrea has been here, she has watched him and learned him, and he has done the same. It is disconcerting to see how well they know one another without ever saying a word. I've known Andrea for eight moons now and she still baffles me.

Something red flashes and they both freeze, panting hard for breath. A drop of red blood drips off of the warriors spear. Andrea has a cut covering one side of her face. Starting at her nose, it crosses on her cheekbone and tapers out near her ear.

Blood oozes from the wound, but Andrea ignores it. Her eyes are alight with something.

She straightens out of her fighting stance at the same time the warrior does. They present their weapons to each other and bow their heads.

Andrea turns to walk out of the ring.

"Andrea."

The warrior calls to her, and uses her name. Her lips quirk a fraction and she turns to look over her shoulder at him.

"I am Vahn."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"So that's where that scar came from. But couldn't she have had it removed?" I ask.

"She could have, but she refused. Said she'd worked too hard for that scar and she wasn't about to wipe it off."

"What did she value it for?"

Father chuckles in the darkness. "Your mother values respect. She wants everyone to know that she is just as good as anyone, and she does what it takes to get the respect she deserves. The story of how she and Vahn battled is a legend in this village. That scar is a symbol to any Sanghelli who see her. It marks her as one who earned the respect she has obtained."

I think on this.

"Who is Vahn? You've mentioned him before I think."

"He is Kirth's eldest brother."

"Huh."

I'm about to ask another question when I hear it.

I gesture to father and he cocks his head to listen as well.'

There it is again: the unmistakable sound of footsteps all around the house.

We are surrounded.


	10. My Father's Blood Is Purple

**Well, I was going to be lazy and keep everyone waiting, but hell I wanna get out what's coming next as much as y'all want it! Had this playing in my head all last night before bed and this morning on my way to school.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The front door explodes in a mass of blue plasma. I can't hear anything over the ringing in my ears. I have my pistol at the ready. A Sanghelli rushes through the gaping hole in the wall, plasma rifle at the ready. He catches sight of me about the time I loose a full charge of plasma into his face.

He staggers back, clutching at the burning liquid. Plasma is lethal to humans, but to a Sanghelli's tough skin it is merely a discomfort. I've probably pissed him off more than anything.

Father dives for the fake board in the wall where he keeps his rifle. I take pot shots at anything coming through the hole to cover him.

My heart is beating hard and fast, and I still haven't recovered my hearing. I know it is temporary, but not having one of my senses has me panicking. I curse as I deplete the battery in my pistol. What now?

Damn, why don't I keep a knife on me like mother does?

That's it!

I throw the useless pistol at the door and flee for the kitchen. More Sanghelli are coming through the hole and father is doing his best to keep them back. I nearly choke up at leaving him, but I force myself to focus on the fact that he is a trained warrior who has been to war and will probably live longer than I will in this situation.

I am grabbed at the shoulder. Later I will cringe at the thought of doing such a female move, but now I have no qualms of mule kicking the offender's nuts.

The hand releases me and I fly over the table in the middle of the kitchen. I kick it over for cover and grab at the top drawer. I snatch it down and take cover as plasma starts flying. There goes mother's favorite red vase. She's gonna be so pissed.

I am definitely in shock.

Adrenaline and years of practice are all that force me to shove my hands in the drawer next to me and grab four of mother's kitchen knives by the blades.

Always be prepared. Mother loved to preach that, and she insisted that I learn how to fight with more than just a gun, for when I don't have a gun. Like right now.

I pop up from behind the overturned table and flick my wrists. My knives land on their targets. I am disappointed that none were fatal, but they did give me a few precious seconds to grab more knives and line up good shots. Two Sanghelli fall.

But now I am out of knives and I am too big to fit through the window, even if I could get the shutters unlocked and opened before I am killed.

A third Sanghelli, a Zealot no less, marches into the kitchen. He kicks the table out of his way and stands over me, an energy sword dripping red blood in his hand.

He raises the sword to kill me, and in the madness of my impending death, the only thing I can think is, _"Father's blood is purple."_

Something slams into the Zealot's side, and he is knocked into the oven. The clay crumbles to dust, but not before I hear one of his ribs break.

I see an energy sword flash and the Zealot's head falls from his shoulders. Trembling, I look up into my mother's face.

Father has told me of times when mother is consumed by a rage that leaves her shaking and bleeds the color from her eyes. I haven't seen it until this moment. Her odd green eyes are the palest grey, and the whites of her eyes are reddened as the blood vessels are strained in her fury.

"Get up!" she orders me, her pretty round face twisted into an ugly snarl. Blood oozes from two matching stab wounds in her shoulder. "Get his sword!"

She rushes from the kitchen, slamming into another Sanghelli as she does. He falls to the floor and she lifts her knee up to her chest. I watch in horror as she brings her foot down on his head, caving in his skull. Nausea overwhelms me and I hurl in the kitchen floor.

I wipe my mouth and yank the sword from the Zealot's fingers. It's still covered in mother's blood…

I force myself into the living room and engage another enemy. He uses his depleted plasma rifle to deflect the swings of the sword in my hand. I may not be swinging with the practiced ease my father does, but the wild swings still hold an edge of danger for him. Should even one of them land he is a goner.

I slice downwards over his head and he lifts his rifle to block. But the rifle has had too much already. It breaks under the impact of my sword and he is cut from throat to groin. Blood spurts onto me as the body drops to the floor.

I am knocked to the floor as the last attacker flees the house through the hole in the wall. He is wounded, blood pouring from a nasty slice on his shoulder.

"Oh no you don't." mother growls and punches out the fake floor near the door. She pulls out a rifle as long as she is tall.

She drops to the floor, legs crossed and elbows propped on her knees. She lays her cheek on the butt of the gun and sights down the scope.

No, he is too far, the wind is too much, he is moving too fast, there's no way she'll make that shot.

I watch in awe as mother exhales and pulls the trigger.

The Sanghelli drops.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Mother has ushered me and father to Mina's house for the rest of lockdown while she scours the village for any more intruders. I had wanted to protest, but father shook his head.

I pace Mina's sitting room, and shudder when I hear mother's rifle crack like lightning. I stop and stare at my hooves. A drop of blood drips from the hem of my pants and onto Mina's floor. I need to change out of these blood-soaked clothes, but I can't seem to do anything.

Hours later the horn sounds to lift lockdown.

Mother is at Mina's door afterward. Without a word she pulls me and father into a tight embrace and won't let us go. Red blood still drips from her shoulder, but she ignores it.

That night I lay on a pallet in the floor, secure in the fact that she is there keeping watch.


	11. Stay Away From Me

**Ah, I am swooning in the love! Yes, dearest MissFabulous09, I will start designating the time changes. I asked about that earlier and didn't get any feedback. And there are two of my regulars that point out that plasma-to-yo-face would be more than uncomfortable, and they are very valid points, so allow me to explain. **

**I associate Elites with the Master Chief. They're the only enemies he can't just squash under his boot. If you notice, a fully charged plasma rifle is extreme damage to Master Chief. But a fully charged plasma **_**pistol**_**, like what Nobu had, only breaks his shield. See what I mean?**

**Anyhoo, back to the story!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Present Day: Sanghelios**

Mother refuses to let me and Father walk across the street to see the damage to the house. She is adamant that she has to clean the bodies and the blood before we return. I don't tell her that the incident will haunt me anyway.

Father sits across the table from me, moving one of his flat pieces of wood in a board game mother made before they got married.

Speaking of…

"How long has mother been on Sanghelios?" I ask.

"Hm, let's see. She was twenty summers old when Thel brought her, and she was here five years before you were born, so that's ten and nine summers."

"Has she ever wanted to go back?"

Father sighs as if the question pained him.

"Yes, and she has a few times."

"I never knew."

"She hasn't been back since you were born."

"When was the first time she went back?"

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Do you want the whole story or do you want me to answer your incessant questions?"

"The whole story, of course." I am offended that father has gotten short with me, but I let it slide. I can tell he's worried over last night's attack.

"Now, where were we…"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Year 2552: Sanghelios**

"Hetlan!"

I keep walking. I do not want to speak with her.

"Hetlan!" she calls again, and I hear her running to catch up with me. She overtakes me and stands in front of me.

I look down at her impatiently. I can tell she is bewildered.

"Hetlan, what's wrong? What did I do?" she asks.

My frustration gets the better of me and I grab her by the upper arm and drag her down an empty side street to get away from prying eyes. I ignore her muffled squeaks of pain at my grip. It is harder than I thought.

"Quit following me. I don't want you near me anymore, do you understand?"

She blinks and is silent as the words sink in. Her shoulders are drooping and she can't seem to breathe easy.

"_Why_?" she whispers, and it takes a minute to harden myself against her voice. I've never heard such pleading in her voice.

I try to think of some excuse when some warriors my age walk by the end of the street. I freeze in habit but one looks this way. He taps on his friend's shoulder and points at me standing here with Andrea standing next to me.

And the torment begins. They're raucous calls are sick, and I can't believe they actually think Andrea and I have that kind of relationship.

Andrea watches with a stricken face before she turns back to me. Her eyes shine with tears, but she blinks them away and turns to run down the street.

It has been this way for the last six moons. It has gotten to the point where my father has thought something was going on with me and Andrea. Today I could stand no more and have refused to even look at her at all before just now.

XXXXXXXXXXX

I have stopped going to check on Andrea at Thel's house, and in turn she has stopped coming over to my parent's house. I haven't seen her at the training grounds for a fortnight. Everyone has come to me asking about her, and I get angry when they are surprised that I don't know where she is. It fuels the feeling that I am right in getting her away from me.

Doesn't stop me from wondering where she is or what she's doing.

I worry that something has happened to her. I shake myself. She is fine.

My mother misses her terribly, and refuses to speak to me unless she absolutely has to.

Three moons pass before Kirth kicks my ass in training. He has been extra rough today, and he's pissing me off. Rtas has noticed, and has ordered us to draw water from the river as punishment for bringing our problems to training.

Kirth keeps shooting me seething glares and finally I cannot take it.

"What is your problem?" I demand of him.

"Other than the fact that you're the reason Andrea has been starving? Oh, I have plenty of problems."

"She's not starving. Thel feeds her."

"You idiot. Thel's deployment has been extended. He found a Halo ring and is trying to keep the humans away from it."

This is news to me. Worry gnaws at my gut now.

"I'm sure she's fine."

Kirth glares at me and refuses to speak to me again. Whatever.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That evening I make the walk to Thel's home. I am shocked by what I find. A large tree has blown over on top of the house and caved in the roof. It is already rotted, suggesting it's been there a while. Dust covers everything and the house has an eerie chill in it.

Andrea is nowhere to be seen.

I walk around the house and find a trail that leads off through the woods behind his house. I know a river passes back there as well. I follow the trail. Deep in the thick trees I find a small lodge made out of bent saplings and covered in leaves and mud. There are a few animal skins inside.

Several trails lead out away from the lodge. I follow my ears down the one that leads to the river.

I knew she'd be nearby, but I hadn't known I'd find her so quickly. She stands in the shallows of the river, scrubbing mud out of her tiny shift. I'm just about to glance away from her nakedness when I notice something is wrong with her side.

I can count her ribs.

She's starving to death. And I'm the one that drove her off. But why didn't she ask someone for help?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Present day: Sanghelios**

Mother walks through the door and sighs tiredly. I look out the window and am shocked to see that the sun has fallen.

Mother goes straight to father and climbs up into his lap like a child. She lays on his chest and is asleep before I can object.

"Get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning." Father says, and carefully stands and walks to the guest bedroom that he and mother are staying in.

I lay in my pallet and think for a long time.


	12. Freshest Etlas In Town

**I love all my awesome regulars! Glorious feedback is a blessing. Thanks to everyone for helping me out. Here's a new chapter.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Present Day: Sanghelios**

I am practically twitching by the time mother leaves, and when she does I interrupt father's breakfast.

"So how did she survive?" I ask.

"Can't I eat first?"

"No."

Father grumbles but he smiles at me.

"Thel came back. He got a brief respite after he killed some heretics in an old gas mine. Now, of course, we know they weren't heretics, but that was back when the San 'Shuum were manipulating what information the rest of us heard."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Year 2553: Sanghelios**

For the last two moons I have tried to get Andrea to talk to me, but she ducks into my blind spots and disappears every time I get near her at her little hut. Once I caught her out by the cliff and cornered her into a crevice. I thought I had her then, but she turned and began to scale up the face of the cliff, her individual toes gripping holds that my hooves would never settle on.

Finally, I have stopped chasing her, and have settled for watching her quietly from the trees. If she gets any worse, I'll force her to get help. Maybe I could get Rtas to convince her to eat. She always did whatever he said without question.

She seems to be doing well enough. She catches little fish and small animals and cooks them over a fire she keeps smoldering day and night. But I know they aren't enough. She won't pick any berries to eat; she probably doesn't know which ones are poisonous.

It is one of these days that I watch her from hiding when she says, "I don't live all the way out here to have company you know."

She is sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest looking out over the river. I think she is talking to me, and I am about to walk to her when I hear someone chuckle to my left.

An Arbiter steps forward on the path and walks to her, the ancient armor shining in the dimming light of the afternoon sun.

"You know, you could have had the roof fixed."

Andrea whips around, eyes wide, before she scrambles to her feet and tackles the newcomer. After all the troubles I've had with her just to get her to talk to me, I'm a little jealous.

"Thel! You were gone so long I didn't know if you were coming back!"

Thel? Thel is the Arbiter? What happened?

Thel returns the embrace with enough ease that I have suspicions this is a common occurrence. And they don't let go for several seconds.

"I tried to fix the roof but I couldn't get that stupid tree off of it. But even if I did I don't know how to make the clay bricks to patch it back up."

Thel steps back and looks at her for a long while. Andrea fidgets under his gaze, picking at her worn shift and running her fingers through her hair. She also seems to be blushing in Thel's presence. I have never seen her this way.

"I know the tree is the reason that you have a new home, but what is the reason for your malnourishment?"

Andrea's bottom lip turns out in a pout. "I wasn't wanted anymore."

"My orders should have been carried out despite this."

I nearly slap myself for forgetting that I had been ordered to care for her. My ass is so _dead_.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. I've been doing just fine."

Thel regards her again, before asking to be shown around her little camp. They head up the trail to the lodge and I circle around to go back home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, I watch as Andrea and Thel begin to clean and repair the tiny house. It takes most of the next six days to complete it. When it is complete, Thel mentions something about putting his things back inside.

"Oh, no you don't." Andrea states, and plants her tiny form in the door of the house to block his entry. "You are not making this into your bachelor pad again. When you're gone it still looks like a guy lives here, and then I'm the only one here, so it looks like _I'm_ the guy, and I refuse your bachelor tastes. I don't care if I have to paint furniture on the walls, but I am putting more cozy into this house."

She huffs and glares up at him. Thel laughs and replies, "Very well. Make a list and I will fetch some things from the market tomorrow."

Andrea sighs in relief and smiles before they go back inside the house.

I don't go back for a while, though my mother mentions that Thel has been to the market several times buying things like rugs and vases. Father asks her if Thel seems to have gone crazy.

"No, but he always has his face in a list of things. I guess Andrea has asked for some things. Just this morning he was at the tailor's for some reason."

Father shakes his head. "Poor Thel."

Poor Thel my hoof.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few days later I am in the market with one of mother's lists as long as I am tall. I grumble, understanding why Thel may have looked ridiculous while buying things on Andrea's list. I stop to check the vegetables at the stall on the corner. Mother insists they have the best and freshest greens in the whole village.

I am thankful when I don't see the large woman that usually runs the stall. They should put her in the army; I swear she'd intimidate even Rtas 'Vadumee.

I put several fruits in my basket and call for someone to pay. I am shocked when Andrea's voice calls from the back.

She comes round from behind the stall laughing and walks up to the stall. It is over her head, but she does a little jump and can see over it. She must have a stool back there to stand on. She eyes me warily, but says, "How can I help you today?"

I hand her coins for the vegetables. She picks through them to count them and hands me back a little change.

"Thank you and come again." She says, actually smiling, but I guess that's not for me.

I look her over.

Her hair, which has grown nearly to her waist, is clean and twisted into two braids that rest over her shoulders. She is wearing a light brown dress with no sleeves, meaning that it is for work. That's what Thel was at the tailor's for. He had bought her a dress so that she could be decent for her job.

I hear her foot tapping impatiently and I move on. I hear something turn over. I turn back around to see Andrea is gone.

"Yikes! Mina, the etlas' are escaping!"

"Catch them!" came the reply, and a pretty young woman comes rushing into the stall.

"I'm trying! They squirm out of my hands!"

Onlookers laugh and offer to help, but it appears that Mina and Andrea finally chase the little fruits down.

Andrea bounces up onto her stool and beams at the crowd.

"Anta's market stall, folks! Freshest etlas in town!" she cries.

The crowd roars with laughter.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Present Day: Sanghelios**

"So Thel got mother a job in the market and that's how she met Mina." I say.

Father nods.

"How long was Thel home that time?"

"Maybe six moons? Something like that."

I hear squealing outside and peek out the window. Mother is playing with Mina's children out in the yard while Mina sits at her spool and weaves on the new rug she is making. I glance at Mina's bloated abdomen. It'll be any day now. I wonder if mother will deliver the babe like she did with the others. She probably will.

Mother has become the main midwife of the village because of her ability to save the babes if there is a complication. I asked mother what her secret was and she had laughed and replied that there's no secret, she's just small enough to get her arms in and untangle a babe if it's hung, or pull it out before it suffocates if it hasn't turned head down.

I had faked retching at the information and mother had laughed at me.

I'm starting to miss that relationship with my mother. But I'm starting to understand her more.

Just a little longer.


End file.
